Catch and Release
by Kathryn Sparrow
Summary: Hermione Granger disappeared eight months ago, leaving a confused Draco Malfoy behind. Blaise Zabini has taken it upon himself to reunite his best friends and play matchmaker once again, hopefully with a different outcome this time.M for themes&later chs
1. Chapter 1

Blaise Zabini knocked on the red wooden door in front of him. He waited a moment, and then he heard voices inside of the house. He couldn't quite distinguish them, but he could tell that there was more than one, and a few were obviously childrens' voices.

The door swung open and a shocked and very pregnant Hermione Granger stood in front of him.

"Hello, Hermione." He said after a moment, keeping his expression blank despite the shock he was feeling at the sight of her enlarged stomach.

She stared at him, and after a moment whispered, "Blaise… What are you doing here?"

"'Hermy, who is it?" A little boy stepped out from behind her and looked up at Blaise with wide eyes. "Is he from England, like you?" Blaise grinned.

"Luke, go back inside to the table and sit with your brother and sister. I'll be there in a moment." She shooed him back inside and opened the door wider for Blaise to step in.

He entered the house, and was pleasantly shocked. When he had heard that Hermione was living in muggle America, he had been surprised, and had fully expected to find her in a shabby house or apartment; this was not what he had expected at all.

The house was lavishly decorated, and everything in it was obviously expensive. The room that Hermione ushered him into was obviously the formal sitting room. The room was a dark navy blue with white trimmings and was furnished with white leather furniture. "Wait in here. I have to deal with the children." She left him sitting on a sofa and went in the direction of where he assumed the children were.

The children? She had only been gone eight months, there was no way that she had had more than one child, as she was obviously pregnant now. Blaise chuckled to himself. Draco never did know how to keep it in his pants.

Hermione came back in after a few more minutes and sat down awkwardly in a chair across from Blaise, placing a hand on her extremely rounded stomach. "The children are watching a movie, we have about thirty minutes before they'll need more attention."

"Children?" Blaise asked, keeping the smirk off his face.

"Yes, I'm a nanny to three wonderful children. A governess if you will." She supplied at Blaise's confused expression.

"I see. And this one?" He gestured to her stomach.

"Due in about a month." She said.

"So it is Draco's, and that's why you left." He said smugly.

"Don't speak of things you don't understand, Blaise Zabini. You don't know the half of what happened."

"Then enlighten me, Hermione." He settled back into the couch.

She opened her mouth as if to explain to him, but then sat up as straight as she could and glared at him. "First things first, Zabini. How the bloody hell did you find me?"

He smirked; Hermione Granger only cursed when she was incredibly heated, and Blaise had always taken pleasure in making her that way. "It was easy enough. You could have done a better job hiding yourself."

"So I did such an awful job that it took you eight months to find me?" She said smugly and smiled at his indignant expression.

"Let's get to the point here Granger. Draco needs you," she looked away. "He does. And you obviously need him." He gestured at her stomach again.

"If he needs me so much, then why are you here instead of him?"

"He doesn't know I found you." Blaise didn't look her in the face.

"And why did you keep that information from him?" Blaise shrugged. "He hasn't been looking for me… has he?" She said softly after a moment.

"You're sometimes too smart for your own good, love." Blaise moved to kneel on the floor before her. "He loves you. You need to go to him."

"And you, Blaise? How do you feel about me?" She said softly. When he didn't look at her she put her fingers beneath his chin and raised his face to look at her. "Are we where we left off?" Blaise didn't answer. "I'll take that as a yes then." She took a great shuddering breath and wiped at her eyes, keeping the tears from coming.

"All right Blaise. Let's get this straight. I'm living her in America now. I don't plan on going back to England for a very long time, if ever. These children are my life now, and soon there will be one more for me to devote my life to. I want to raise this child as I was raised, the muggle way." At Blaise's shocked expression she nodded. "Yes. I have given up magic temporarily." She placed her fingers on his lips to stop his response. "Please, leave me in peace, Blaise. I'm not ready to go home, and even more so now that I know Draco doesn't miss me."

"Hermione, he does miss you. Have you always been so sure of yourself?" He smiled sadly at her. "But I accept your decision. Please though love, think about coming back, at least after the baby is born. He'd want to meet his child." Blaise stood up and helped Hermione to her feet.

"Blaise, don't tell him. I'd like to be the one to do it." He nodded at her and she led the way to the door. She stood on her tip toes and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Don't be a stranger."

He smiled at her and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "I won't, love. I won't."

He turned and walked down the porch and started down the street to the nearest ally way that he could apparate from. As he walked, he formulated a plan in his mind. If it was the last thing he would do, he would bring his two best friends, Draco and Hermione, back together.

A/N: This if my first Draco/Hermione fic, and my very first time ever writing Blaise. Please be gentle. There will be much more to come! Please tell me if you like it, hate it, or just don't have feelings towards it, just give me something! Please!!


	2. Chapter 2

"You haven't heard from Hermione lately, have you?" Blaise Zabini said casually from his velvet chair in the Malfoy library a few days after his meeting with Hermione.

Draco Malfoy immediately stiffened. "I haven't." He said tightly without looking up from the heavy ledger he was examining.

"Have you tried to contact her?" Blaise said in the same casual tone.

"I haven't." Draco said, still not looking up.

"Well, are you going to?"

Draco turned and looked at Blaise coldly. "Drop it, Zabini."

Blaise shrugged, "I just thought that since, you know, you're in love with the bird that you'd at least try to see her, as it has been almost nine months."

Draco was silent for a moment. "I'm not in love with her, and she's the one that left. Shouldn't she be the one trying to contact me?"

"You drove her to leave." Blaise muttered.

"_I_ drove her to leave?" Draco said incredulously. "I do believe that you are the one who turned her down."

"You're speaking of things you don't understand," Blaise unconsciously echoed Hermione.

"I damn well understand Zabini." Malfoy stood up and went to stand in front of Blaise. "You hurt Hermione."

"As did you, my friend." Zabini stood as well, and straightened. He looked slightly down at Draco as he was a few inches taller than the blond.

"You left." Draco sneered.

"I was interfering." Blaise said simply.

Draco turned abruptly and slammed his hand down on his desk. "Damn it Zabini, she loved you. She wanted you."

"She loved you, Malfoy." Blaise didn't seem fazed by Draco's anger.

"She loved us both. She wanted us both, and when she couldn't have us both, she left." Draco buried his head in his hands.

"She deserved better than me. I didn't know what I wanted." Blaise went to stand next to the large stained glass window.

"Do you know what you want now?" Draco said quietly.

Blaise didn't turn around to answer him. "Yes, I think I do."


End file.
